Toy vehicle



Jan. 22, 1 1,481,704

A. c. GILBERT TOY VEHICLE Filed- Dec. 16. 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jim.22,, 1924.. EASL'ZM A. C. GILBERT TOY VEHICLE Filed Dec. 1 1920 2Sheets-Sheet 2 V fluomc Patented Jan. 22, 1924.

, 1,481,704 PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED C. GILBERT, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUQ ASSIGNOR TO THE A. C.GILBERT COMPANY, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

TOY VEHICLE.

Application filed December 18, 1920. Serial No. 431,202.

To all whom it may concern:

.Be it known that I, ALFRED O. GILBERT, a citizen of the United States,residing in New Haven, county of New Haven, and State of Connecticut,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in To Vehicles, ofwhich the following is a full: clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to toy vehicles and more particularly, to thetype of such toys which may be built up or fabricated from sets ofstandard elements or parts. In the manufacture of toys of this nature, anumber of standard parts are provided and so formed that they may be puttogether in various combinations to form many different toys. The partsshould be conveniently stored or packed in a suitable box for handlingor shipping purposes-but in the past it has been difiicult to providesuch toy parts as were necessary to build some toys, such as wagons andthe like, requiring a box body, as this body could not be convenientlypacked in a box suitable for the other parts of the %)ne object of thisinvention is to rovide a novel construction toy of the 0 aracterdescribed. A further object'of the invention is to provide a set ofstandard arts which may be assembled to form a p lurality oftoys,including a wagon having a box body, and are so arranged that the bodymay be used as the shipping or storing box in which the parts may bepacked.

Another object of the invention is to provide construction member ofrelatively short length, which may be spliced or joined together to formtoy parts of relatively great length. These elements can then be packedor stored in a box of-.convenient size and yet can be assembled to formrelatively long vehicle parts, such as a wagon frame or tongue.

A still further object of the invention is to provide new and improvedstandard: metal construction units, which can be easily assembled toform a strong and substantial toy and yet may easily be detached andreassembled to form other toys.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a new and improvedtongue member, and to connect this member to the axle in such a mannerthat it assists in bar of the vehicle.

holding the axle and wagon frame in operative relation.

To these and other ends, the invention consists of the novel featuresand combinations of arts to be hereinafter de-" scribed and c aimed.

In the accompanying drawings:. A

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a toy vehicle embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is' a sectional view on line 2- 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the vehicleprovided with a box body;

Fig; 4 is a perspective view of the box in w ich the toy constructionsare packed for shipping and handling, the cover being applied thereto;

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the handle or tongue member;

Fig. 6 is a view of the under side of the body or seat member, shown inFig. 1;

gig. 7 is a similar view of the box body; an

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the box cover on line 88 of Fig. 4.

The toy vehicle to which I have shown my improvements applied consistsof an elongated frame or body p'ortion, which is made upof tworelatively long frame members 11. These frame members are of anglecross-section and are in turn formed of the metal strips 12, two ofwhich are spliced together in abut-ting relation in the formation of oneof the frame members 11. The strips 12 are perforated, as shown, so thattwo, abutting members may be placed end to end and a metal strap 13applied and bolted thereto, so that the two strips will form one longrigid member. The angle members are then formed by joining two of thelong rigid members thus formed by means of the perforated brackets 14,which may be secured to these strips by means of the perforationstherein, to connect them in as many places as will be found desirable toform a rigid member. These two frame members 11 may then be joined inspaced relation by a plurality of strap members 15, which are placed atdesirable and convenient points along the length of the same, to formthe body mem- To the front end of the body is connected 3; \I-shapedbracket 16, which is so shaped at the ends thereof i that it may bebolted to both strips 12 of ond clip 21 is adapted to embrace the axleand to fit between the legs of the clip 17 and it is provided with a setscrew 22, which when tightened, will secure the axle in position. It isseen that the parts thus far described may be assembled, as set forth toprovide a rigid body member which has an axle pivotally connectedthereto and securely held in osition. This. pivotal connection-ispI'OVldBd about the bolt WhlCh joins the bracket 16 to the cl1p 17.

When the vehicle is provided with a handle or tongue member '23, asshown m Fig. 1, the clip 21 is omitted and the tongue is so connectedwith the axle that the latter is held against longitudinal movement inthe clip 17. The handle member is constructed, as best shown in- Fig. 5,by securely bolting, or securing in a convenient way, the rear end ofone strip member 12, between the forward ends of two similar stripmembers. To the forward end of the structure thus formed is then secureda handle bar 24:. The two rear strip members are spaced apart by meansof a U-shaped bracket 25 securely fastened to the ends of these membersand a rigid and strong tongue construct10n 1s thus provided. A strap"26, provided with a loop 27, is then secured to the upper one of therear strip members 12.- This loop 1s designed to be slipped upon theaxle between the legs of the U-shaped clip 17 and is so arranged thatwhen the nut is tightened upon the bolt 28, the axle will be tightlygripped by the loop, thus holding thetongue and clip member 17 againstlongitudinal movement alon the axle.

As the rear w eels 29 are of greater diameter than the front wheels, itis necessary to mount the frame member 11 closer to the rear axle thanto the front axle, in order that the body of the vehicle will besupported in horizontal position. Thesame members areused to support therear endof the body as are used in connection with the front end, butthese members are assembled in different relation. Thebracket 16' issecured between thev legs of one of the U- shaped clips 17' and a'cli21' carrying the set screw 22 is placed so that its legs will straddleone of the legs of the clip 21. The axle is then slipped through thealigm' .in horizontal position. To prevent longitudinal movethisdifference will just make up for the difference in diameter of thewheels. The frame of the vehicle will then be supported The numerousconstruction units and elements, which comprise the set from which thetoys here shown and others are made, are, when disassembled, designed tobe packed or stored in a box for the purpose of handling or shipping- InFig. 4: of the drawings, '1 have shown the box 30, in which the toys arepacked, supplied with a cover 31. The entire set of elements is packedwithin the box, so that the appearance of the set when delivered to thecustomer is accurately represented in the disclosure of s shown in Figs.1 and 3, both the box and the covertherefor are designed and constructedto be used either separately or together as parts of the toy vehicle. InFig. 1, I have shown a set or body member for the vehicle, provided bymountin the cover 31 upon the frame members 11. order to space this seatmember from the frame, brackets 25,- identical with that used inconnection with the tongue, are mounted upon the frame members 11 andshort strap members 32 are mounted between these brackets and the seatmember 31, which is 'ioo then secured to the frame by bolts'33passingthrough the seat 31, the straps 32, the brackets 25 and framemembers 11. This provides a broad supporting base for thetions 35 bywhich it may be connected to other elements in various relations.

In Figs. 3 and 7, I have shown the box 30 mounted upon the vehicle frameto provide .a box body for the toy. As shown, the box rests directlyupon the frame members 11 and is bolted thereto by bolts 36 passingthrough perforations in the bottom of the box. The box may, if desired,be mounted upon the frame in the same manner as the seat member 31. Thetop 31 of the box may be used in connection with the device shown inFig. 3, if it is desired to provide a cover for the box body.

dies.

memo-l The bottom of the box is provided with numerous perforations asshown in Fig. 7,

to be connected in various ways to the different elements. For instance,by means of the rows of perforations 39, a pair of the strips 12 aredesigned to be secured to the box to form a wheel barrow body and ban-Various other adaptations and arrangements will, of course, suggestthemselves. s

While all parts of the toys shown and described hereln, except thehandle bar 24 and the box 30, are made of metal, the exact material fromwhich the elements are made may, of course, be varied without departingfrom the scope of the invention.

While I have shown and particularly de scribed a preferred form of myinvention, it is understood that I do not wish to limit myself theretoin all its details as many changes and modifications may be made whicwill fall within the spirit of my in vention and within the scope of theappended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a toy vehicle, a sectional tongue member comprising a plurality ofelongated stri members secured together to form one section of saidtongue member, and another strip member having one'end secured to an endof said section in overlapping relation.

2. In a toy vehicle a tongue member comprising a pair of strip memberssecured together to form one section of said tongue, and a single stripmember having one end overlappmg the ends of the strip membersof saidsection and secured thereto.

3. In a toy vehicle, a tongue member comprising a pair of strip memberssecured to gether to form one section of said tongue and a single stripmember having one end overlappin the ends of the strip members of saidsection and clamped between the ends of the strip members.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand on the 8th day ofDecember, 1920.

ALFRED C. GILBERT.

